Message From NABJ President Bob Butler

We haven't talked in a while so I wanted to brief you on what's been happening, what's happening now and what will happen in the near future.

The filing period for the 2015 election closes today at midnight. This is the first election under the newly-revised constitution and you must be a current member as of June 15th in order to vote. I encourage you to renew your membership now.

Our convention team is working to make our 40th anniversary convention memorable in Minneapolis.

Our major plenary will tackle the issue of racism in America. It will include panelists from across the country for an honest discussion about race and how it affects the lives of African-Americans each day.

We'll also have a vibrant 90-minute show that celebrates our 40-year history.

In traditional NABJ fashion, this year's convention will bring together the largest number of journalists of color in the country and some of the biggest names and issues in the news to plenaries, workshops and news conferences.

NABJ also hosts the largest career fair for journalists. Click here to register.

Once you have registered you can book your room at the convention hotel, the Hilton Minneapolis.

Before you come to Minneapolis, upload your resume to the NABJ Careers database.

Employers frequently send job postings to NABJ and we look through the resume database for candidates we can pass on.

We will be honoring your best work at the Salute to Excellence Awards Gala. For the first time we will also be honoring the best journalism of our college students. The application deadline is April 10th.

Next year we will be meeting in a joint convention with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. The convention will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Finally, fundraising is always a big job for the staff and the board. We can use your help. If you know of someone at a company that is not an NABJ partner, please pass along their contact information to Executive Director Darryl Matthews at 301-405-0248 or drmatthews@nabj.org.